Summer Heat
by Alt.Magnus
Summary: As the family welcomes the coming summer, so must they accept newcomers to their home, as well as revelations that will test the ties that bind the family together. Sequel to Spring Showers.
1. Prologue

**Summer Heat**

Prologue

"_Ah! This is the life!_" RJ chuckled to himself, sipping up the cool, yellow-orange half fruit juice, half high fructose corn syrup beverage from the can in his hand. Sitting on the inflated plastic easy chair, floating in the backyard swimming pool of the Williamson family (who thankfully were away visiting family on the other side of the country), he let his mind wander with the cool breeze, drifting in the realm where he was not fully awake, yet not sleeping.

Just a little over a year ago, he had met his family, an odd bunch of foragers. He had met them under the most unusual circumstances, him with his life in danger, them in the midst of the prospect of starvation. Their common link lie just over the artificial barrier that now separated them from what his family once considered their home, now dominated by the human settlers: El Rancho Camelot. The Suburbs.

Basking under the sun, watching the odd cloud or two drift by over his head, he enjoyed this break from the hectic pace of the days before. It had been a busy spring with countless reconnaissance missions to various houses in the neighborhood followed by raids every other day. Aside from the food and supplies for their daily survival, they had gathered over half of all the supplies that they would need for the winter, still many months away. Seeing how far that they had progressed in their preparations, at Stella and Tiger's suggestion, with Verne's stubborn approval, they took a week long deserved break from all their work.

The days had been relatively quiet for all of them, with a few family activities in between to help strengthen the family ties. Stella took the first initiative after observing some human females performing weird actions to odd music. Discovering that the actions and music were part of some ritual called "aerobics," a ritual meant to help the humans lose weight and live healthier lives (but for the most part failing miserably), she decided to try it out with the family. Twenty minutes into the aerobics DVD she had found, almost everyone was lying flat on the ground, their bodies fatigued and cramping, dizzy and gasping for air… with the exception of Hammy, who finished the entire hour long workout video barely breaking a sweat.

"_Ah, Hammy._" RJ smiled. Just the thought of the young, red squirrel filled RJ with many happy thoughts. A few months ago, he never would have imagined the little guy had deep feelings for him or take note of the little actions he did to try and get his attention. A few months ago, he never would have imagined the trials and tribulations they had to go through to find themselves and ultimately, one another. A few months ago, he never would have imagined having a relationship with Hammy, much less the overly sweet, romantic one they had now.

A few months ago, he never would have imagined being as happy as he is now. Thank the heavens and the powers above that he was enlightened to the knowledge and the love that hyperactive, sweet, innocent Hammy had for him.

SPLASH!

"HAMMY!" RJ jumped in his seat, nearly falling into the chlorinated water around him.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" Hammy giggled, floating effortlessly in the water. RJ swept his hand over the water, trying to splash him back. However, Hammy quickly submerged and instead, accidentally caught Verne resting on the poolside by surprise.

"HEY! Watch it!" Verne grabbed the nearby towel and wiped off the cold water off of his skin. The reptile opted for a nice sun bath compared to the cold, freezing water of the pool, the former a much healthier option considering his metabolism.

"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me." Hammy teased RJ in a sing-song voice after resurfacing. RJ smiled back at Hammy, dipping his hand into the water, ready to splash Hammy once more.

"Don't you dare splash any more water over here!" Stella warned RJ and Hammy menacingly.

"My dear, don't get upset. Just let them have a little fun." Tiger placed his hands on her shoulders, massaging her gently.

"Ah, alright." Stella gave in with a small chuckle. "You know I treat you too good." Stella spoke to him with a little white lie.

"More than you can imagine." Tiger just purred happily as he continued his ministrations.

"Oh, stop it you two." Ozzie jokingly berated the happy pair, the two of them reminding him of himself and Jade many seasons ago. "You two are sappier than a maple tree!" He added with a smile.

"Weak, Dad, very weak." Heather responded from next to him, her nose buried in one of her father's books on Shakespeare. Her father had gotten her into his works and found herself enjoying reading the various plays he had in his collection.

"Who wants hotdogs?" Lou asked the family from the small grill nearby, holding one up on a fork for them to see. "The hamburgers will be ready in a few minutes!" He added.

"Need any help honey?" Penny asked from next to Stella and Tiger, relaxing as well.

"Don't worry dear. You can go ahead and relax all you want, okay?" Lou replied.

"Yeah, we're helping him make sure he doesn't burn the burgers like last time!" Quillo added with a grin.

"Oh, that was just one mistake!" Lou looked to Quillo with an angry look before breaking out in a chuckle. "Thanks for your help though son." He added. "Where's Bucky and Spike anyways?" He asked him.

"There they are!" Quillo pointed to them as they rolled in on their new wheels, what one would call "pimped out." Lou looked in disbelief as the wheels seemed to raise and gyrate randomly, as if there were some serious mechanical problems with the otherwise over decorated, gaudy vehicle.

"Yo Pops, what up?" Bucky asked his father from the driver's seat of the large SUV-like toy vehicle nearly five times their size.

"We hooking everyone up with the good stuff!" Spike pointed to the cooler on wheels hitched to the back of the vehicle, bottles of what looked to be orange juice on ice inside.

"You know the two of you sound ridiculous." Lou informed his kids.

"We know. We're just having a little fun, that's all." Spike replied as the two of them broke out in a giggle.

"Come on, RJ, we should head back and get some food to eat before it's all gone." Hammy appeared on the side of RJ's floating chair, grabbing his drink out of its holder on the chair, sipping up little of the juice.

"You go on ahead, I'm gonna relax a little more before I pull myself in." RJ told him, pointing out the small rope connecting the raft to one of the rungs on a ladder on the side of the pool so he could just pull in and hop off onto the shore without having to get wet. Hammy pouted, hoping he would just swim with him there.

"Oh, alright." Hammy sighed, nodding. "I hope this smelly stuff can come off of my fur easily." He informed RJ of the nasty effect the chlorine had on his fur. He smiled to RJ before he pushed himself from the raft and swam to the nearby ladder at the side. RJ watched as Hammy easily glided just under the surface of the water and chuckled to himself. For the majority of the time around the pool, Hammy was just flopping out his hands in big, wide strokes, more out of play than actual swimming. But seeing Hammy just dart through the water reminded him of just how adept Hammy was in the water as he was on his feet.

However, his laughter died as he found himself staring at Hammy as he climbed out of the pool, his fur matting down onto his skin, showing the true definition of his body shape. Though Hammy's fluffy tail was bogged down by all the water it contained, it only seemed to emphasize the naturalness of the curves of his body. Hammy's small but well shaped upper body just seemed to flow right into his thin abdomen and waist, rounding off into the curvature of his legs. RJ bit his lip as his eyes mentally traced the curves of Hammy's body over and over again, for some reason oddly attracted to the natural shapeliness of the young squirrel's body.

"Ugh! Eww!" Hammy could still smell the chlorine sticking to his fur. He shook his body, casting off as much water as he could.

"HAHAHA!" RJ snapped out of his ogling and just broke out in a hearty laugh once more, seeing Hammy's fur just poof out. Hammy looked to him, sniffed his fur to discover that the chlorine was still on him despite his best efforts to shake it off, and decided to find the shower he had seen nearby earlier. RJ was somewhat taken aback when he saw Hammy looking back to him, a sly smile on his face, before he disappeared to the side of a small shed where the shower was.

"_What was he smiling about?_" RJ thought before he became aware of his position on the pool. Apparently, he was smack dab in the middle of the pool. He shouldn't be, considering he was tied to the side of the pool. However, he noticed that the rope was slack and looked to the ladder where he was tied to. Where he used to be tied to, that is. "Hammy." RJ growled angrily, realizing what he had done. Sighing and resigning to the reality of his situation, he pinched his nose and jumped off of the raft and into the stinging, chlorinated waters.

SPLASH!

"_Gotcha._" Hammy smiled to himself as he heard the splash in the distance. He looked up from where he was, seeing the small lever attached to the pipe, the switch to turn on the water he figured. He climbed up the thin pipe and grabbed onto the lever. Pulling it down, a shower of water rushed past him, hitting the ground and melding into a small pool on the tiled floor. After slowly climbing back down, he extended his arm out, testing the temperature of the water, and finding it to be rather warm, he walked under and began to rinse the chlorine out of his fur.

"Hammy."

"Huh?" Hammy looked to the side and started to laugh. RJ looked so weird with his fur matted down, his own body shape revealed this time.

"Haha, very funny." RJ replied sarcastically, pacing up to him into the warm shower and looking down at the shorter squirrel.

"Nah, you don't look funny." Hammy said, trying not to hurt his feelings. "You look kinda cute." Hammy looked to him thoughtfully, placing his hands in his.

"Hmph." RJ still looked to him with unhappy eyes. Hammy pouted and leaned up and placed a little kiss on RJ's muzzle before hugging him tight.

"I'm sorry, RJ." Hammy apologized to him for forcing him to swim when he knew he didn't want to. He purred softly, hoping to keep him from growing even more upset with him.

"Mmph." He heard RJ mumble something before moving away from him.

"What?" Hammy asked, a little afraid of what he might have said. RJ turned back to him and saw in his hands a small bottle filled with a thick, green liquid.

"You still smell like chlorine." RJ repeated to Hammy as he walked back and joined Hammy back under the shower. He opened the bottle and poured out a little of the green stuff into his hands before plopping most of the stuff onto Hammy's head.

"RJ, quit it! That tickles!" Hammy giggled as RJ worked up the lather into his head fur. Hammy looked up to RJ and saw a big smile on his face, a sign that he was rather enjoying this. Hammy reached out and grabbed the bottle of shampoo and got some of the green stuff onto his hands. Unfortunately, being shorter than RJ, he could only clean RJ from his neck down.

But RJ didn't seem to care, as he started to laugh himself.

"Oh, it's a tickle war you want, eh?" RJ grinned and began to assault Hammy's tender sides. "Well, this means war!"

"NO! HAHAHA! NO! STOP!" Hammy laughed out loud. He fought back, sticking his hands right under RJ's arms and tickled him as hard as he could.

"NO! NOT THERE! HAHAHA! NO! HAHAHA!" RJ laughed alongside Hammy as their tickle war continued.

Moments passed and the laugher died down, leaving the two to relax under the torrent of water. After the tickling, Hammy's hands found their place once more on RJ's chest, digging into the wet, white fur. He pressed his nose into his chest fur and neck scruff, breathing in RJ's scent. Though RJ was sopping wet and the artificial shampoo scent was a tad overpowering, to Hammy, RJ's scent was unmistakable and irresistible. Every time he found himself in this position, so close to RJ, in a moment as intimate as this, he wished he could just drink up his musky scent. He gently kissed RJ lips, tracing the path down from his muzzle to his chest with soft little pecks and licks.

As Hammy immersed himself into the moment, RJ did a bit of exploration of his own. Though only his eyes had the privilege of tracing the curves of Hammy's body earlier, now he was granted to feel those curves in his hands, feeling the smoothness of his red and white fur on his paw pads. As Hammy graced his body with his little kisses, RJ nuzzled the top of Hammy's head, crowning him with tender kisses of his own. He found himself biting his lip once more, as if to hold himself back, as his fingers continued to explore Hammy's body. He had never known anyone else's body as intimately as Hammy's and he had yet to fully feel every part of it. But in time, he knew he would, and he was more than willing to wait for Hammy to allow him the opportunity, the privilege to understand this one reserved aspect of his mate.

Such intimate moments for the two of them were rare, even as far as their relationship had progressed in so little time. Maybe it was out of respect for the family, or more likely, the respect they had for one another that they took their time to progress their relationship. But such heartfelt and personal moments were greatly cherished and served as constant reminders that things would only get better for the two of them from then on. In these moments, there was nothing else in the world except for one another…

Which would explain why they didn't notice the grey, rumbling clouds rolling in above them, as well as sudden change in the shower temperature as the rain fell. They were in their own little world, their body heat chasing away any cold from the falling ice cold droplets of water that rolled off of their fur, all their senses tuned in only to absolutely feeling the other. No, it would take something else to break them from their little romantic moment.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE! BOOM!

"Eep!" Hammy hugged RJ tight, the sudden explosion of light and sound frightening him to the bone.

RJ reacted quickly and took Hammy into his arms, running back to the family. In the distance, he could see the rest of the family packing up the rest of the stuff they had brought for what they thought would be a relaxing sunny day by the neighbor's pool, so to speak. Bucky and Spike in their new wheels, as well as with Tiger's help, helped drag the cooler and the grill back through the other side of the hedge, to bring it back to their home.

"Come on, RJ! We were wondering where you and Hammy were!" Verne berated them for making him worry, as well as keeping him out in the cold rain. After all, if a small splash of water upset his metabolism enough to upset him, what more a torrential downpour of icy, cold water. RJ wordlessly followed him back through the hedge, carrying Hammy close to him.

At the other side, the family sought the various covers they had to keep the rain out from their home, as well as giving them a little space to move around. They were glad they hadn't taken down the tarps they had set up some time in the spring, when the rain was more frequent. They setup the grill once more, finishing up the cooking of the hamburgers and hotdogs before everyone shared in the meal. It was a nice meal together, their last one before resuming their work the following day. As the meal wound down, RJ and Hammy retired to RJ's place for a little time for themselves.

Early in the spring, when their relationship was still budding and after being caught in repeated incidents, Verne had given in and thankfully allowed Hammy to start sleeping with RJ, granted that no funny business occurred, much to Hammy's confusion of his meaning. But he didn't argue with Verne's decision and, from then on, happily followed RJ to sleep every night.

Now, at RJ's place, they wiped themselves down properly and decided to settle in for the day, as early as it was.

"Nice and dry now?" RJ chuckled as he helped Hammy dry up the rest of the water in his fur with the towels he had.

"Yeah, all nice and dry!" Hammy declared, his fur puffing out slightly. He smoothed his fur back down to normal before taking a dry cloth and wrapping it around himself. RJ climbed into his booster seat easy chair before helping Hammy up. RJ pulled the thin cloth covering off of Hammy, much to his displeasure. However, he gave up arguing as soon as RJ wrapped the blanket around the two of them, now sharing the blanket. Hammy chirred happily and gave RJ a quick kiss to him to express his happiness for his desire for the intimacy.

"Wanna see what's on?" Hammy grabbed the television remote and flipped the TV in front of them on to life. RJ watched as Hammy flipped through the myriad of channels for something interesting to watch before finally taking the remote out of Hammy's hands.

"You know what?" RJ spoke up as he switched the television off and tossed the remote away. "I kinda just want to rest now." He grinned to Hammy. Hammy smiled, understanding RJ's words as a thinly veiled excuse to just cuddle with him.

"Okay." Hammy replied happily, leaning back into RJ's embrace, resting his head in the crook of RJ's shoulder. They watched as the rain continued to pour from the sky above, the thunder and lightning seemed to have ceased some time ago.

Tomorrow, they return to their normal routine of foraging for food for the winter; a reconnaissance mission in the morning to the west side of the hedge, a possible raid on any potential targets. It would be back to normal for the family. As normal as it can get, at least.

But for now, resting together, the shared warmth from their bodies driving away the biting cold of the wind and rain around them, they drifted off into their sleep, into their shared dreams, listening to the soft pitter-patter of the rain above and around them and to the soft, warm heartbeats between them.

The seasons were changing, the cool showers of the spring now being replaced with the blazing heat of the summer sun. And life for the family over the hedge would soon follow the turning of the seasons, as more than just the summer heat rolls in.

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As always, if you have any advice or suggestions, please feel free to review me. And of course, all flames will be ignored.

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	2. Chapter One: Excursions

**Summer Heat**

Chapter One: Excursions

As the sun pierced through the darkness of the final spring evening, the first hot rays of light of summer scattered through the tops of the high trees above the lone island sanctuary amidst the sea of white-washed, artificial, wood and steel structures. The light first bathed the trees in soft, iridescent yellow, refracting on the drops of rain from the flash storm the night before, shining down onto the cool ground below.

These soft lights found their focus on a solitary object, a slightly worn but comfortable booster seat, which was also a bed for one sleeping raccoon. The morning was peaceful, almost idyllic, as the sounds of the chirping insects of the night fell into silence to be replaced by the sharp tweeting of the dawn birds. It only added to perfect the image of the paradise.

However, RJ would not be awakened by such noise. He was lazy, he will be the first to admit it, and he loved to sleep the morning away, a love second only to his love for delicious, fattening, and artificially flavored food. He could sleep hours into the afternoon, waking up only when his stomach grumbled, calling him to fill his tummy with sweets and fatty delights. However, it would not be his hunger that wakes him from his sleep this morning. No, it would be something quite different…

♫ I'M SO EXCITED! AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT! I'M ABOUT TO LOSE CONTROL AND I THINK I LIKE IT! ♪

"Mmph…" RJ grumbled, twisting and turning on his booster seat bed, trying to find a comfortable position to allow him slip back into the blissful calm of slumber.

♫ I'M SO EXCITED! AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT! AND I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, I WANT YOU! ♪

That is, if the Pointer Sisters would only shut up.

"Hmmm?" He cocked one eye to the sky above, taking note of the sun's position, which was barely creeping over the horizon. Probably no more than 7 o'clock in the morning, maybe 8 o'clock? Still too early for him to get up, and yet he was, though he wasn't happy about it. In fact, he was in his right mind to maul whatever idiot woke him up so early in the morning. RJ blinked the remaining sleep from his eyes before rolling over towards the direction of the source of the loud, blaring music, ready to bite someone's head off, figuratively and maybe even literally.

However, his anger quickly subsided once he saw what the cause of the music was.

♫ I WANT TO LOVE YOU! FEEL YOU! WRAP MYSELF AROUND YOU! ♪

"_God, he looks so cute_." RJ placed his hand up to his face, smiling to himself while contently watching his partner, Hammy, exercise to a DVD workout video, though really, it seemed more like dancing. The young squirrel seemed to take the workout so seriously, following the thin female human and her "heavier" co-stars on screen, pumping his slender arms and legs to every beat of the song.

RJ had to refrain from laughing out loud, wondering where in the world Hammy got the pink sweatbands around his head, wrists, and ankles, as he looked so adorable while wearing them.

RJ pulled his hand away from his face and just enjoyed watching Hammy exercise to the obnoxious video. Granted, he did feel a little guilty just watching him exercise instead of actually joining him, as he was sure Hammy would encourage him to, but he found some sort of odd, slightly voyeuristic thrill in just watching the young red squirrel enjoy himself and exercise his heart out, once again tracing the lines and curves of Hammy's body with his azure eyes, just like yesterday.

♫ I WANT TO SQUEEZE YOU! PLEASE YOU! I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH! ♪

He bit into his lower lip as he continued to stare, nearly drawing blood with his teeth. His mouth had become desert dry, and he was undeniably growing warmer, feeling sweat beginning to form on his brow, and now matter how he tried, RJ couldn't avert his gaze from Hammy, especially his tail. Though his body pumped and swayed with the rhythm of the song, his tail was a lot less dynamic. Deciding that Hammy was using it to maintain balance, RJ found himself engrossed in admiring the red-orange and white fur of his fluffy appendage, watching the soft bounce and sway of the curl at the end, the subtle movements entrancing him in its hypnotic dance, tracing his path from the curl down to the very base where…

♫ AND IF YOU MOVE REAL SLOW, I'LL LET IT GO! ♪

"_AAAH_!" RJ pushed himself up from his position lying on the seat, closing his eyes and trying to clear his mind. He had snapped himself out of whatever trance he was in, calming his breathing and blinking a few times as he tried to gain his bearings. Coming to his senses, his gaze fell on Hammy again, the young squirrel's dance seeming to have slowed with the dying music, his movements now more out of play acting than actual exercise.

♫ I'M SO EXCITED! AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT! I'M ABOUT TO LOSE CONTROL AND I THINK I LIKE IT! I'M SO EXCITED! AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT! AND I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, I WANT YOU! ♪

Hammy raised his hands and waved them wildly, then pulling them back to hug himself, swaying his body down to his hips with the lyrics. With a final little flair, in time with the last line of the song, he spun around to point at RJ, as if to point out whom he wanted.

"RJ! You're up!" Hammy, expecting to find RJ still asleep, but instead found him sitting up and wide awake. Seeing that RJ was up and about, he promptly ran to his partner and smothered him in a big, happy hug.

"Hey, Hammy." RJ smiled wide and returned the embrace. Hammy turned up to give him a quick and simple kiss, but RJ quickly took charge and locked him into a longer, more passionate kiss, holding him firmly, but comfortably.

"Good morning to you too, RJ!" Hammy quickly wrapped his arms around RJ's neck once the kiss was broken, blushing a little, but feeling absolutely giddy from the affectionate kiss. "I really liked that!" Hammy told him unabashedly, deeply proud with what he believed to be one of RJ's unprecedented and unrestrained shows of affection for him.

"Hey, Hammy? Why were you dancing to that DVD program?" RJ asked ever so softly into Hammy's ears, happy with his friend's encouragement toward him.

"Oh, I borrowed some DVD's that Stella still had from that time we all did aerobics together so that I could do some early morning aerobics work. It's really fun! You should try it!" Hammy explained quickly to him, nuzzling and nibbling his neck fur affectionately.

"_I thought so_." RJ chucked upon hearing Hammy's suggestion, just as he knew he would. "Nah, I'm not built for that." RJ moved Hammy aside from atop him and jokingly poked at his own pudgy belly. "I thought that I was going to die the last time we did that aerobics stuff, remember?" RJ pointed out.

"Yeah, you were on the ground for a long time, along with everyone else. I thought that aerobics was so fun, and I was surprised that you guys were so tired after that one workout." Hammy recalled that one incident. "But then I remembered from somewhere that you guys needed to be… hydrated? Is that it? So I thought that maybe some water would get you guys up and that's why…"

"You splashed all of us with that freezing cold water, right?" RJ added, remembering the chilly shower that he'd given him, shivering slightly at the thought, but he laughed inside, remembering how everyone else reacted, especially…

"Verne really didn't like it very much. He was running around everywhere with his shell off, probably because some of the cold water got stuck inside. Kinda weird, considering that he always says that the cold makes him really slow. But he was really moving very fast, almost as fast as me!" Hammy smiled at the memory. RJ, on the other hand, was laughing his head off, remembering Verne running around naked, screaming incoherently.

"HAHA… HA… Ah… Oh..." RJ held his sides, aching from his laughing fit, trying to calm himself and catch his breath. Hammy wiped the tears of laughter from RJ's eyes and grabbed his hand, pulling the raccoon up from his place on the chair.

"Come on, we should go meet the others at the log now! I'm hungry!" Hammy pulled his partner harder, trying to get him up on his feet. "And we still have to go searching for another house we're going to raid, remember? You promised that you and I would check out those nice, new houses at the west side!" Hammy continued to drag him.

"Okay, okay. I remember, I remember." RJ gripped Hammy's hand and pulled himself up from the seat. However, the sudden movement caught Hammy off guard, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward. RJ noted what was happening and reacted quickly, catching Hammy with his free arm and pulling the squirrel to himself.

"RJ, now's not the time to dance!" Hammy giggled, feeling odd being held like this, especially with RJ's hand now resting at his side.

"Oh, yeah, okay." RJ nodded and backed away from Hammy, but still kept a firm hold on his hand. He was stunned for a few moments, having Hammy pressed against him like that, and though it felt strange and somewhat foreign, it also felt very comfortable, and in that brief moment, despite his distaste for exercise, he felt a pressing desire to dance with Hammy.

"Come on already! Let's go!" Hammy began to run with RJ in tow, slowly coming out of his thoughts on the events that had passed moments ago.

"Yeah, let's not have Verne screaming at us again!" RJ added, laughing. Still, in the back of his mind, as he ran behind Hammy, he couldn't help but admire once more how nice and fluffy Hammy's tail was.

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"BBBBBUUUUURRRRRPPPPP!!!!!"

"Whoa! Good one, Ozzie!" RJ had to complement the burp the opossum made, surprised by the strength of his unexpected belch.

"Dad! That's so disgusting! Heather grimaced at her father for his rude gesture.

"Hey, come on, you have to admit, _that_ was an impressive burp, Heather." RJ tried to sway her opinion. "Even I've never been able to…"

"It's alright RJ." Ozzie stopped RJ. "Heather's right, and it was very rude of me to do that in front of everyone." Ozzie apologized to the family. Heather smiled, seeing her father regretting his actions saving her from the growing embarrassment she was feeling. "Though you have to admit, that was pretty good, huh?" Ozzie smiled.

"Yeah! That was great!" Spike cheered.

"Hey, watch us, watch us!" Quillo pulled everyone's attention to himself and his siblings, who were passing a can of super fizzy soda amongst one another.

"What are you guys going to do this time?" Verne asked, observing them swallow down full mouthfuls of the sweetened carbonated beverage.

"♪ A ♫ B ♪ C ♫ D ♪ E ♫ F ♪ G ♫! ..." Quillo, Bucky and Spike began to sing, much to the amusement of most of the family. "…♪H ♫ I ♪ J ♫ K ♪ L ♫ M ♪ N ♫ … Aw, we ran out of burps!" Bucky snapped his fingers, upset.

"...♪ O ♫ P ♪ Q ♫ R ♪ S ♫ T ♪ U ♫ V ♪ W ♫ X ♪ Y ♫ Z ♪!" Hammy continued where the brothers had left off. "♪ NOW I KNOW MY A B C 'S, WON'T YOU COME AND SING WITH ME ♫!" Hammy finished off with a flourish before bowing down to the family, who were laughing and applauding hysterically.

"Bravo Hammy, bravo!" Ozzie clapped and whistled. Granted, it wasn't much of a performance, but they did have to admit that it was a very funny start to their day.

"I didn't know you had it in you!" RJ smiled as he wrapped his arm around Hammy.

"BURP! I still have it in me!" Hammy giggled coyly.

RJ playfully pulled him closer, giving Hammy a gentle noogie to the head.

"NO! NO! STOP!" Hammy continued to giggle, struggling until he successfully pulled away from RJ's grip.

"Aw, come on Hammy, I'm just playing with you!" RJ declared apologetically, now slightly regretting the noogie he'd given his friend.

"One of these days RJ, I'm going to get you for that!" Hammy quipped, though in a tone with a clarity of being more playful than threatening. RJ just stuck out his tongue teasingly at Hammy, causing him to pout, but allowing RJ to catch the young squirrel by surprise and close the distance between them, bringing their lips together in a quick kiss to lighten him up. "I'm serious, you know." Hammy added, still sulking and trying to look upset, though the smile on his face betrayed his attempted look of displeasure.

"Yeah, I know." RJ replied with a sly grin, knowing that Hammy was just saying that out of principle rather than meaning.

"You two have become so sappy, you know that?" Stella spoke to the two of them, noting the rather frequent feelings and gestures of affection that they shared.

"Hey, I can say the same for you two!" RJ retorted, pointing past Stella, and toward Tiger, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, wearing a content smile as he carefully groomed his love's fine ebony hair with his rough feline tongue.

"What? You mean Tiger? He's just helping me practice some decent hygiene!" Stella shot back to RJ with a glare.

RJ just smirked and replied, "Oh really? So when was the last time you helped Tiger practice some 'proper hygiene techniques'?"

Tiger halted his grooming. "That is none of your business, you inconsiderate, nosy and dirty raccoon." He stated to RJ calmly but bitingly, a small smirk appearing on his own face before returning his tongue to its prior duties.

Stella struggled not to let lose the laughter building up in her.

"Hey, I'm not dirty!" RJ shot back angrily. However, he quickly raised his arm and sniffed. After immediately convincing himself that he didn't smell too bad, chalking it up to his 'natural' scent, he returned to his former stance, glaring back at Stella.

Everyone else just stared back at him. RJ now suddenly felt very self-conscious.

"RJ, you do…" Verne raised his voice to point out that very fact but…

"So, what are we doing today?" Hammy quickly interjected, jumping right into the middle of the group, interrupting Verne and immediately turning everyone's attention to himself.

"_Thanks for the save, Hammy._" RJ breathed a sigh of relief now that everyone was now distracted. "_I owe you._" He smiled.

"Aren't we supposed to check out the new developments on the west side of the development?" Hammy asked, taking a quick look back to RJ, noting the smile on his face, before adding, "I heard that they should have some really good stuff, like some new toys and food, and devices, like this one really shiny wall thing that looks like a TV, but is so much more flatter, and the colors are really pretty, and…"

"Yeah, we're going to check it out Hamster!" RJ moved in behind his partner, wrapping his arm around him. "We've got so much more stuff to get and so little time! After all, there's only…" RJ folded his arms, furrowing his brow as he tried to recall how many more days until the winter season was upon them.

"One-hundred and eighty-one days before winter." Verne had whipped out his little Raspberry personal digital assistant and quickly read off the numbers from his schedule. It was the one human invention that he had actually taken a liking to, as it had been completely user-friendly with the tentative turtle, what with its many organizational functions and large, easily operatable buttons. "And fourteen hours, forty two minutes, and twelve… eleven… ten…" Verne counted down his little programmed clock.

"Right…" RJ, Hammy, and the rest of the family just raised an eyebrow at Verne. "So let's get going already." RJ declared to the Hedgies commandingly. "Come on Verne, drop that thing. We've gotta go find a house to hit for tonight." RJ reminded him.

"Come on! Let's go already!" The porcupine triplets sounded off together. "This is going to be so cool! We're gonna get tons of new stuff to play with!"

"Sorry kids, but you're not going with RJ and Hammy this time." Lou stated firmly, restraining his three children before they went rushing out to who knows where. He trusted RJ, Hammy, and Verne, without a doubt, but he didn't trust whatever may lie on the other side of the hedge, even after living next to it for over the span of a year.

"AW! COME ON, POPS!" Quillo whined. "We'll behave, we promise!"

"RJ, Hammy, and Verne will be keeping an eye out for us!" Bucky and Spike argued.

"I think it'll be fun if they come with us, Lou." Heather spoke up for the three.

"Sorry Heather, I think it will be best if only RJ, Hammy, and I go this time." Verne replied, settling the matter for everyone, much to the triplets and Heather's displeasure.

"What? Why? I'm capable of taking care of myself!" Heather protested angrily, her defiant streak rearing itself.

"Hey, come on, Heather, it's just a scouting mission." RJ calmly stated. "It won't take us maybe more than, what, two, maybe three hours, tops. Besides, all we're looking for are some houses to hit for tonight." RJ explained. "It's nothing to get all upset about, understand?" He added.

Heather gave him a shocked expression before she turned away, upset with the arrangement. "Fine, okay." Heather sighed dejectedly. "I'll stay here."

She hated being treated like a kid, as if she had never grown out of her younger image.

"We'll bring back something if we find anything good, alright? Maybe some snacks, or some new stuff, or…" Hammy rambled on as Heather just moved away from them, obviously not wanting to hear anything more from him, or anybody else for that matter.

"_Don't be sad, Heather._" Hammy tried to sympathize with her, figuring that in spite of her age, she was greatly bothered by how she was constantly treated as if she were a child. He remembered the feeling of being endlessly treated as a kid while growing up, especially under the mindful gaze of Verne. "_They just want you to be safe._" He understood that the family was only acting this way out of good intent, and hoped that she would come to understand that they are simply concerned for her well-being.

"So if you find new games or some new toys, you'll bring them back for us, right?" Bucky spoke up, breaking that odd silence.

"Sure, then we can play more, and maybe we can all snack on some of the foods we find, especially if I find some cookies that…" Hammy started to babble on again.

"Hey, hey, calm down already." RJ chuckled and placed his hand on Hammy's shoulder, calming him before he flew off into another tangent.

"Yeah, we should get going already!" Verne spoke up again and started to pull RJ backwards.

"Wait a second, let me grab my stuff first!" RJ argued, nearly falling over as Hammy giggled, watching happily as his adoptive father dragged his protesting partner away, who eventually managed to break away from Verne's grasp and sling his gadget laden golf bag over his shoulder. "Come on, Hammy." RJ gently took his friend by the hand, leading him along.

"We'll be back soon!" Verne told the rest of the family. "We'll hurry, we only have one hundred eighty one days, fourteen hours, nineteen minutes, and forty-one… Forty… Thirty-nine…"

"WE GET IT, VERNE!" The family yelled back.

"Okay, okay, yeesh!" Verne exclaimed, hurrying away in the direction of their destination.

"We'll bring back anything we can… Well, anything that we don't end up eating anyways!" RJ joked as he and Hammy ran after Verne, hand in hand.

The two had quickly caught up with the slightly disgruntled turtle, slowing to a brisk walk alongside him.

"So Verne, you think you're ready for this?" RJ asked, adjusting the strap of his golf bag into a more comfortable position.

"RJ, I still don't think this is a good idea." Verne voiced his concerns about this excursion into the suburbs. "I mean, it's right in the middle of the day, and the humans are most likely going to be outside or something. They would see us coming a mile away, and who knows what they'll do to us!"

"Oh come on Verne, we're just scouting out some of the other houses, especially the new ones that popped up since the last time we were there. If memory serves, we haven't been to the west side of the hedge since last year! Besides, we have to scope out our old hits, as few as they were, as well as determine if there are any new homes we should plan on raiding soon." RJ reasoned with Verne. "Besides, we'll stay close to the hedge, it's not like we're going to try swiping some food or anything." RJ swore to Verne, running his fingers in a cross over his heart… While his other fingers were crossed behind his back.

Hammy jumped in "Yeah Verne, we haven't been to the west side in a long time, and we still have to find new places to get more food, especially some of those new snacks and drinks that have been showing up lately on TV, like the new Super Chocolate Chip Twinkies, and that drink, Crash! From the makers of Rush! When you just have to keep going…" Hammy babbled the product slogan.

"Hammy, Hammy." RJ placed his hand on the squirrel's shoulder, breaking Hammy from his recitation of the oddly catchy jingle. "Come on, save your energy for when we raid the houses later on." RJ chuckled.

"HEY, WAIT A SECOND!" Verne exclaimed, catching RJ as the he let his tongue slip, causing the raccoon to cringe as soon as he realized his mistake. "You told me that this was just a scouting mission!" He reminded him sternly.

"Of course it is!" RJ raised his hands up in reassurance, faking the best genuine smile that he could. "_Come on, come on… Just buy it already!_" RJ thought, feeling the sweat forming on his brow. "We're not going to steal any food today, I already swore to you that we wouldn't." RJ repeated his promise, though without crossing his fingers of his exposed hands.

"Hmm…" Verne moved close and scrutinized him, inspecting RJ's face for any sign of deception.

"Come on Verne, RJ already gave you his word!" Hammy ran to RJ and clung to his side, trying to form his most adorable facial expression to soften Verne's heart.

"Well…" Verne sighed in exasperation. He never could resist complying whenever Hammy used his 'puppy dog eyes' trick. "Alright, alright. Let's just keep going." Verne trudged past the two, shaking his head to himself as he continued the trek to the western side of the hedge boundary.

"Thanks for the save, Hammy." RJ whispered softly into his partner's ear.

"No problem, RJ." Hammy smiled and placed a quick peck on RJ's cheek before darting off to join Verne. RJ took a few seconds to recover from the quick kiss before he looked forward to Hammy and Verne walking ahead of him, then smiling.

"_I've really got to hand it to him._" RJ smirked, jogging toward the two and watching as Hammy unfolded his crossed fingers from behind his back… Just for him.

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I would like to give out a much deserved THANK YOU to Brian Godspeed for his assistance and proofreading skills, not to mention "encouraging" me to get up off my ass to finish this chapter.

Once again, THANK YOU, Brian! I don't know what I would do without you.

As always, if you have any advice or suggestions, please feel free to review me. And of course, all flames will be ignored.

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